This is one part of the series "Tips for learning English". The series is today created in the sake of collecting and assembling tips which come from English learners. Post your own tips which really work Other members can learn from them, and if necessary we could discuss

You are in VOCABULARY section 8) .

"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

When a man falls into a ditch, we say it is an accident; and is accidental. The side the sun falls down is the west, so we call the people who live in the west, westerner or occidental. Both accidental and occidental have the same Latin root, cadere, to fall.

We call Asians Oriental because they live on the side the sun rises or originates.

Let's look at pedal. The root is ped, foot.
If you have something on your foot, say it is shackled, you can't go anywhere. Impede is to hinder, the word is from in, in + ped, foot. When that shackle is removed, you can move fast, so the word expedite, from ex, out of + ped, foot, is to hurry up. Please expedite, this letter must go out ASAP.

If you know accident and pedal, it is easy for you to memorize occidental, impede and expedite. Do you want to be a podiatrist? That is a foot doctor (medical doctor). Pod is foot.

hi everybody
I know many vocabulary but i don't know how to use them
can everyone say this for me,please!!!
I try to read vocabulary again and again but I can't remember it in my head after a few day.
If everyone have documents about vocabulary
tell me,please
or show me website
thank you

Well, there are many ways to expand your Vocabulary, just we are sometimes not very sure which are suitable for us. Er ... so just try until you can find a way

1- 5 words a day! It's recommended by Josef. Hix, but it doesn't work to me. I used to try "Word of the day" provided by Kaplan, which gives just one word a day but along come some more synonyms. I couldn't keep up after 2 months! :(

2- Learn pages each time through articles. This stupid way unfortunately works well to me. I register newsletter, access the internet and read articles. Each long article often gives me about 40-60 new words ( ). It then takes a lot of time to pick out the new words, look up the meaning in dictionary, write down in a notebook, and simply read them again and again whenever I have free time. Check the progress by reading the article again without having to use the notebook. The content of the articles I read help me to learn by heart easier. Of course later I certainly forget some but some others still stay in mind! 8)

3- Sticky sheets of paper. I think this is quite interesting. Make some small sheets of paper, write down the word and stick it where it should be. Example, make a sheet of "doorhandle" and stick it on the door, right over the doorhandle so you will see the paper anytime you touch the doorhandle. But with this way you cannot learn verbs, I guess, and not too difficult words.

4- Learning with friends. Yeah, you and your friends make a list of words that you need to study this week, then check one another at weekend, ok?

Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

hung wrote:Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

You're luck that you still remember one word. With that rate of learning vocabulary, I thought you would forget them all at once hehehehhehe .

and me, hehe I learn by heart 10 words a day then I forget them after that. and when I wanna express something I often look up them in my dictionary ^_^
But Thanks for your webs, may be my Vocabulary will be better day by day ^_^

hung wrote:Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

You're luck that you still remember one word. With that rate of learning vocabulary, I thought you would forget them all at once hehehehhehe .

Oh no! I never forgot all what I had learnt. I am proud of my MQ and I think I am really a "live E. dictionary" (but just 365 words, 'coz I have learnt it for only one year)

hung wrote:Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

Ha ha, the more you learn, the more you forget!!!

5 is a good number to learn daily and the important thing is how long you keep it going on. 1 week, 1 month or 1 year? 1 week is easy, 1 month is possible but 1 year (=365 days) is a terribly great effort

It's not how many words you have learnt, it's how many words you can remember (meaning and using), then learn them well! Make sentences, think of situation where you find the new words and imagine when you yourself can use them.

hung wrote:Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

You're luck that you still remember one word. With that rate of learning vocabulary, I thought you would forget them all at once hehehehhehe .

Oh no! I never forgot all what I had learnt. I am proud of my MQ and I think I am really a "live E. dictionary" (but just 365 words, 'coz I have learnt it for only one year)

hello everyone,i am anew user of this web site and thish forum,before i signed in this forum i checked your discussions all about the English,after that i found and choosed thish forum is the best way to learn english.If i say trully,i learnt english when i was in university,but i am not satisifiying with my english because it is poor.And i am still trying to get improving my english,right now i am in USA,but my roommates are from the same country,where i from,so we use to speak in our language,i think it is not helps me to improve my english.Two weeks ago i bougt a book from bookstore,this book is called "500 essential words for TOEFL"i really like this book,because it easy to understand.I dont want to bother you with my problems,but i would like you to help me whith your gold advices in order to help me.Thank you all forummates and i really apreaciate your considerations. :)

hello every one :
so i am live in a country can not find much of people talk english langague . i hope if i devlope my english but the best way i think by studing vocabolary as much as possible . and i am studing english for six month and i am feeling better now , because i can make sentences . the favorite way i use it i am i learnt 10 words every day and i am try to use all words every day in my room in the kicthen in the garden every time i am talking to my self and practice second by second , becuse i have the preciuose thing , i think this thing it it like this langague so much this is importent for every one want to learn any langugae now i keep in my mind about 2000 words and use them all the day .

I learn Vocabulary with a programm. Every day I learn 5 Vocabularys.
My programm ask me the 1st day if it is right he ask me after 3 days again. If i know that again he ask me in 10 days. This procedure after the 30 and after the 90 day. After the ninety day it is in my brain(I hope so :) ).

I make this since 4 month. The last two weeks i was in drouble with tests and so on.

But I have drouble to build right sentences and talk. I read a lot of articels. I hope it will be better.

This is my opinion too! One has to embed English in one's daily routine. Every day a word. I listen to BBC daily and watch the news on CNN! Additionally I've got an electronic dictionary and look all the time for words I don't know. Unfortunately I have no one to speak to and therefore I have lack of practise. So I speak to an imaginary person to train myself in forming sentences quick. After a while one recognises the increasing amount of vocabulary. My English trainer told me the better you get the less you recognise progress! HE WAS DEFINATELY RIGHT: It comes slowly but surely. Another hint: Write your shopping list in English! Take care y'all!

Pirate wrote:Hello everyone,

This is one part of the series "Tips for learning English". The series is today created in the sake of collecting and assembling tips which come from English learners. Post your own tips which really work Other members can learn from them, and if necessary we could discuss

You are in VOCABULARY section 8) .

"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Yes, reading is the only way to get used to the English sentence order. I have problems by myself because I'm German and I tend to use the German sentence order. Sometimes annoying! Bye

DocAndy wrote:Hello everyone,

I learn Vocabulary with a programm. Every day I learn 5 Vocabularys.
My programm ask me the 1st day if it is right he ask me after 3 days again. If i know that again he ask me in 10 days. This procedure after the 30 and after the 90 day. After the ninety day it is in my brain(I hope so :) ).

I make this since 4 month. The last two weeks i was in drouble with tests and so on.

But I have drouble to build right sentences and talk. I read a lot of articels. I hope it will be better.

vimbo wrote:Yes, reading is the only way to get used to the English sentence order. I have problems by myself because I'm German and I tend to use the German sentence order. Sometimes annoying! Bye

DocAndy wrote:Hello everyone,

I learn Vocabulary with a programm. Every day I learn 5 Vocabularys.
My programm ask me the 1st day if it is right he ask me after 3 days again. If i know that again he ask me in 10 days. This procedure after the 30 and after the 90 day. After the ninety day it is in my brain(I hope so :) ).

I make this since 4 month. The last two weeks i was in drouble with tests and so on.

But I have drouble to build right sentences and talk. I read a lot of articels. I hope it will be better.

The concept gives learners an opportunity to actively develop their vocabulary (and grammar) skills in a “game” which encourages good language learning habits. This “game” involves a dynamic framework that produces virtually random testing of graded vocabulary and grammar items. It challenges learners to use what they choose – and demonstrates their progress over time through a motivating scoring system.

The rationale behind the "game" is also given at the above link - and any feedback on the concept would be very much appreciated.

Vocabulary is a big problem which enlgish learners always meet.To me ,those words are too difficult to memorize :? I always made a plan to memorize new and old words,however, It fell at last.It is too difficult to persist Now ,in my oppinion,to keep contacting English like reading is a best way to master vocabulary.Language is a tool ,you must practise and use it frequently if you want to master it,Those words stimulate your brain frequently ,then you will master them unconsciously 8)
Just memorizing words doesn't work well,and I always forgot them.That really hit my confidence badly,what is more,it is so boring when memorize words day and day,and it is hard to persist

now,I often sign in some english web sites like this web site to read sth,to post sth,and keep it as one of my daily life.I guess that will work

Last edited by justinlan on Tue Feb 28, 2006 5:00 am, edited 2 times in total.

hurricane_sh wrote:I do not agree with you, I think the best way is to read.

:D :) :o :?

That is so cute!

Learning vocabulary is for me so interesting. I wish I can speak to everyone in their native tongue but since I cant I feel it is good to know mine pretty well. It erases walls between us so that we will be able to understand each other better. I think I still like the picking up a dictionary and starting on any word to be led through some new words sometimes. This is just my favorite way to get new words into my head, plus you learn the meaning so it sticks more...I have done this ever since I was little kid. Thanks to my mom, she loves the English language too. She got me to do that. Read dictionarys! So fun and so smart.

Here are my experiences:
. U have to meet a new word for 7 times to remember.
. I found when I read yours message, I learnt one more new word from yours.It made me exciting and remember longer.
. Don't learn by heart new vocabularies by one word a day. You should choice a short story u like and read it, underline new word or phrase u don't know. Then, learn by heart new words, your words will go up.After that, try to use it often when u speak to everyone.
. Use your new words often in writing and speaking.
If someone has any good ideas, share with me.
Thanks.

hi everybody......i like to discuss about vocabulary....i still remember my first time in improving my english.......so terrible.....my vocabulary is so weak.......but i told myself it is just the beginning.......of course it is hard.....

So....what i do is....i read a lot of english books....then i listed any words that i don't know the meaning is.......and look at my dictionary.......i have more than 20 words a day because i 'm bookworm.

Besides that, i read my dictionary in my leisure time, watching english programmes and listening to english songs................it helps me a lot......

So....what i do is....i read a lot of english books....then i listed any words that i don't know the meaning is.......and look at my dictionary.......i have more than 20 words a day because i 'm bookworm.

Besides that, i read my dictionary in my leisure time, watching english programmes and listening to english songs................it helps me a lot......

hung wrote:Pirate, how can u expand yer E. vocabulary if u merely learn 1-5 new words a day? Personally I learn more than 20 words a day but I forget 15 ones the day after. And after a week I just rem. only 1 word

Ha ha, the more you learn, the more you forget!!!

5 is a good number to learn daily and the important thing is how long you keep it going on. 1 week, 1 month or 1 year? 1 week is easy, 1 month is possible but 1 year (=365 days) is a terribly great effort

It's not how many words you have learnt, it's how many words you can remember (meaning and using), then learn them well! Make sentences, think of situation where you find the new words and imagine when you yourself can use them.

Absolutely...Can we find the better way to keep them going on?Ohterwise,the word we had learnt will be out of our brain after several years.It's too bad.

I think reading only helps improve vocabulary if you note down the new words while you read and take sometimes to look back the noted words in the days after. Reading without noting down new words doesn't enrich your vocab.
Expand vocabulary through learning root word, affixes (suffixes and prefixes)is also a good way, but it's a little bit difficult at first. To me, it's not really helpful, ‘cause it's so boring. I have to study that since it is in my syllabus.
To me, the most effective way is reading the article on the things i interested in, or my work related to. It helps me remember better.

If we are not interested in the words and we still push ourselves to memorise them, then sooner or later the words will be out of our minds.

Contrastly, when we are curious about a word and the word interests us, then we'll be happier to look it up in our dictionaries. And it will be in our mind for a long time or maybe it will even be in our memory permanently.

So, I enrich my vocabulary by looking them up in my dictionaries when I am curious about the words.

The words I look up are from the articles I read or the English programs I listened.

The point is : Reading and watching, then find some words that interest you or make you curious.

That helps me a lot.

Supernaturally speaking all EC members are curious people, especially in learning English.

the advice I was given by my former English teacher:
- if you have a note-book for vocabulary, make sure you write an English word on the right and the definition in your language (or the description in English) on the left - it helps to memorize new words

- work with a new word, find synonyms, write out several sentences including new words, phrases and leave it for two weeks time, then revise it and do it after a month time once again, pretty long, but words do really keep in mind

I realy like to improve my vocabulary. I have an interesting book about english idioms and phrasal verbs and everyday learn 15-20 new words and phrases. After I create an article with new words (I try to use the most of them), and repeat words helps me special sowtware, which test me in a different kinds. It's my way.

i used to enrich and enhance my vocabulary is jot down the strange word whenever or wherever i encountered from reading articles or story books. later on, i find for the meaning of those word. that is very effective way if you keep reading repeatedly.

however, if you write down one or two useful example sentences for the word you are finding, it might help you imprint those word. this way really help me. it does worked!

I think it depens on your pimary modality. For example, I have good visual memery and I should look at words, write and repeat them and give english explaination for each. And a perfect way of learning new words it is assosiation each one in your native language, but it's not easy.

The best way to learn vocabulary is to use it! That means you need to READ, WRITE, LISTEN and TALK!!

You will find that if you do this with NATIVE English material, you will find a lot of USEFUL words to learn. I think this way is much better than learning from a vocabulary book.

I know in my experience, when I learned a new word by EXPERIENCING it, I would REMEMBER it! By experiencing it, I mean:
[1] meeting the word in a real language situation
[2] not knowing what it means
[3] finding out the meaning (maybe with a dictionary or from a friend)
[4] then using the word.

If you are always READING, WRITING, LISTENING and SPEAKING English as much as possible, your vocabulary will grow and grow and GROW!

forum wrote:The best way to learn vocabulary is to use it! That means you need to READ, WRITE, LISTEN and TALK!!

You will find that if you do this with NATIVE English material, you will find a lot of USEFUL words to learn. I think this way is much better than learning from a vocabulary book.

I know in my experience, when I learned a new word by EXPERIENCING it, I would REMEMBER it! By experiencing it, I mean:
[1] meeting the word in a real language situation
[2] not knowing what it means
[3] finding out the meaning (maybe with a dictionary or from a friend)
[4] then using the word.

If you are always READING, WRITING, LISTENING and SPEAKING English as much as possible, your vocabulary will grow and grow and GROW!

It has great sound my ideas were as well something like yours one

Do u know what do I utilize other implement to improve my vocabulary, beside all I have installed some English dictionaries in my computer chiefly I use to make the best of finding out many interesting words and use it in speaking with my friends

1. Learn 6 new words related to the same subject per day
2. Read these 6 words 50 times per day with yourself
3. Write/rewrite them on a peace of paper 50 times per day
4. After one week read/write all of your words again three/four times that day

Trust me you will have a very powerful vocabulary after several months....
when you have good vocabulary you will speak,read and understand a lot more..

Great advice!
I had a friend who practiced new words everytime he walked through a door...Whenever he walked through a door, he would think about the word and try to make a sentence in his head. He said he learned 50 words a week doing this. Amazing!

hi my friends
I think to learn vocabulary is the most difficult the others.
2 days ago my friend and I memorised some phrasal verbs. sometimes it could be funny. I think you had better study with your friends. so you aren't bored.
finally I remember most of them.
however, twice a day you shoul read the list of vocabulary. It is very helpful for you.

My First Post:
This is an awesome website. I love the Tips for Learning English series. Even the post section has an amazing spell-check function built-in. Talk about Awesomeness

I just love words (a.k.a Vocabs), and I do have this ambitious dream of one day being able to use English to communicate just like a Native Speaker. I do recognize the importance of vocabulary and its usage. Vocabulary is essential in reading and writing English. I would love to get some practice on this Website everyday, like posting my rants up here and get some help from the forum members . This will be one of my daily activities.

I am currently on a plan of extending my vocabulary by following some of the methods posted in couple hundreds posts above(That's quite a long read I know). There will be time you will see my awkward word usage, sometimes broken sentences but please be patient and help me achieve my dream.

I also want to share my own method: (just for reference but creating your own method is the best way)
Get some Vocabulary books, believe me, those author know what they are talking about. Study at least 10 words per day. Make sentences, make jokes, and learn the right way of using words. And typing up Articles or short stories that you like.
I 've been following this schedule on and off for sometimes now but I think it helps.
Thank you for sharing and all the help, people.

Hi, is it a good start for english-beginner to learn those sentence connector words as their vocab homework?
I somehow think if they learn it well it would be great, as they can use it to write stories or composition,would it be the case for your'all too?

the technique to accumulate vacuballary only comes through reading and reading...... at least you must read a newspaper daily because with reading the paper the words will be repeated again and again..... yeah, but dont forget to keep a weighty dictionary whenever you see a difficult word must check it ..... sometime we feel bothering to check the word from dictionary we go ahead ignoring it....... never do that..... the second technique which comes in my mind that make yourself habbitual of reading novel or story books these can keep refresh your vacuballry....

For me, reading is the best method to increase vocabulary. I keep a vocabulary notebook wherein I can list down the new words with its definition and derivation. Moreover, I write down 3 sentences using the word. Mastering the word by using it in your speech would be very effective.

During our training, we usually have our "word for the day". Make an effort to study a new word everyday. You can study what it means and how it's pronounced. Then make sure that at the end of the day, you know it by heart.

For me, one of the best and basic way of improving your vocabulary is through reading and listing down all the difficult and new words that you encounter while reading. You can also try doing word games, its not only vocabulary enriching but also fun to do. If you find it hard remembering difficult words then you can try associating these words with pictures. Actually there are a lot of ways, it is up to you which suits you best. As for vocabulary software that you are looking for, I recommend you try visiting www·vocabularysoftware·net since I stumbled upon it on the internet while looking for real cool word games softwares. You can find not only software for word games but also for vocabulary and spelling. Have fun!

Buy a good dictionary! While it will help you look for the meaning of words that you don't know, it's also a good idea to try to learn a few new words each day. What I usually do is open the dictionary by random and point to a random part of the page and then understand the meaning of that word.

Hi !! guys....!! i'm a student here... i read the suggestions regarding the Vocabulary
improve techniques.i usually fallow this tips,but During the conversation ,i can't remember the correct word or phrase.. i have to take time to actully remember it and put in right place in a sentences..it can't help me any way.. and off course there r much more diff. word in dictionary, which i could not differentiate well... any other ways?

learning needs hard worker..so I am trying to do my best ,but my problem is ...How can I use words in sentence....I asked my teacher about that ..and she told me" you need to understand the part of speech of the word first" can anyone explain that ?

Najlooolah wrote:learning needs hard worker..so I am trying to do my best ,but my problem is ...How can I use words in sentence....I asked my teacher about that ..and she told me" you need to understand the part of speech of the word first" can anyone explain that ?

I think she/he means that u should understand the meaning of words & their grammatical functions whether verbs/nouns/adj/adv ..etc..So u can put each word in the right position within the sentense & use it in a proper way..

Najlooolah wrote:learning needs hard worker..so I am trying to do my best ,but my problem is ...How can I use words in sentence....I asked my teacher about that ..and she told me" you need to understand the part of speech of the word first" can anyone explain that ?

I think she/he means that u should understand the meaning of words & their grammatical functions whether verbs/nouns/adj/adv ..etc..So u can put each word in the right position within the sentense & use it in a proper way..

yes u can..everything seems to b hard in the beginning..try to use dictionary as much as u can, & btw whenever u search for a meaning of a certain word u'll find the function as well, which will help u to use words properly in a sentense.. good luck :)

yes u can..everything seems to b hard in the beginning..try to use dictionary as much as u can, & btw whenever u search for a meaning of a certain word u'll find the function as well, which will help u to use words properly in a sentense.. good luck :)

Usually dictionaries make you bore, when you take a heavy book of dictionary your mood just turned into sluggish and you start thinking how could I remember all vocab: so avoids yourself. so the way I would suggest you to read newspaper, stories, text books and listening and get words and try to use in your own way.
intend to take 3 words daily and make the use of in best way repeatedly. conduct groups and use their ur vocab: really it's effective way

I Think that one of the practical ways is to have a palm-paper piece . Then you write 8 words maximum in both front and back But not just words , they should be in context .After that , write the meaning in your own language (I suggest to be written upside down . Finally, put the paper in your pocket , and from time to time , pick it up and have a quick look at them . If you can get it back , that means you succeeded , If not, don't have another paper till you catch it write .
please if you tried this way , please send me a massage .

I Think that one of the practical ways is to have a palm-size paper . Then you write 8 words maximum in both front and back But not just words , they should be in context .After that , write the meaning in your own language (I suggest to be written upside down) . Finally, put the paper in your pocket , and from time to time , pick it up and have a quick look at them . If you can get it back , that means you succeeded , If not, don't have another paper till you catch it write .
please if you tried this way , please send me a massage .

It is often helpful to have some kind of "hook". Better be practice anytime as you memorize your vocabulary, never stop until you got that. I know it's so annoying sometimes but when your done it's feel like lighter to know everything!

thanks Pirate, your advice is useful for me, and i will try it.
for me, number 2. try to read articles is very good way to memorize vocabulary.
actually, i have already been trying it now. It is feeling difficult but actually, effects to learn vocabulary.
and number 4. is also I agree it comes into effect. but it is so annoying, because I couldn't write the words that i don't know down all the times.
number 3 is I think It doesn't effect very well, and number 1. is the same also.
so, my point is number 2 is really very good way and i am also using it now. you can use it number 4 also. write the words down on your notebook.

i learned about 20 words a day but i forget most them the next day. That is my trouble. I searched on the net and i found a lot of ways to learn vocabulary. Hey they affected me.
i really worry about my english. Now i try to learn english every time. I learn it when i am sleeping, cleaning housework and cooking.
i hope that my english will become better in the future.
If everybody have a special way, please will show it for me.
Thank you very much!

nguyettall wrote:i learned about 20 words a day but i forget most them the next day. That is my trouble. I searched on the net and i found a lot of ways to learn vocabulary. Hey they affected me.
i really worry about my english. Now i try to learn english every time. I learn it when i am sleeping, cleaning housework and cooking.
i hope that my english will become better in the future.
If everybody have a special way, please will show it for me.
Thank you very much!

Hi!
It's normal for everybody to forget to many words studied ( not learned) per day.
The most important point is learning at least 5 words during an English class: Use them in context, practice them and use them all day long or at least during your English class with your teacher and classmates (or by yourself If you're not studying in an institute) so that you can stablish the knowledge, you got me? For example: Speech ; So, use that word in several sentences so that you CAN remember the meaning , the function and so on.
I hope this can help you.
Best Wishes.
Teacher Oriana.

Pirate wrote:Well, there are many ways to expand your Vocabulary, just we are sometimes not very sure which are suitable for us. Er ... so just try until you can find a way

1- 5 words a day! It's recommended by Josef. Hix, but it doesn't work to me. I used to try "Word of the day" provided by Kaplan, which gives just one word a day but along come some more synonyms. I couldn't keep up after 2 months! :(

2- Learn pages each time through articles. This stupid way unfortunately works well to me. I register newsletter, access the internet and read articles. Each long article often gives me about 40-60 new words ( ). It then takes a lot of time to pick out the new words, look up the meaning in dictionary, write down in a notebook, and simply read them again and again whenever I have free time. Check the progress by reading the article again without having to use the notebook. The content of the articles I read help me to learn by heart easier. Of course later I certainly forget some but some others still stay in mind! 8)

3- Sticky sheets of paper. I think this is quite interesting. Make some small sheets of paper, write down the word and stick it where it should be. Example, make a sheet of "doorhandle" and stick it on the door, right over the doorhandle so you will see the paper anytime you touch the doorhandle. But with this way you cannot learn verbs, I guess, and not too difficult words.

4- Learning with friends. Yeah, you and your friends make a list of words that you need to study this week, then check one another at weekend, ok?

tandvictor wrote:well.i don't really understand that seeing a fine picture will make you good at vocabulary!how can u do that???

Throughout pictures or images you can take Vocabulary, for example: Nature, what kind of words you will find regarding to Nature? Animals, Ok, so, let's name some animals. Good. What else? Fauna , Plants, and so on! I just see it from that point of view.

I know, to improve my English skills, I need to have a very big quantity of vocabulary & I'm looking for the best way to learn.

You know, I learned, even one word per day before, but that word wasn't used in fact often, then I forgot after some days :(...I also learned by reading newspaper, there were many new words in one news, I had to check these with dictionary, but it's difficult to understand & it took too much time. I didn't have much time to read it many times again & again till without using dictionary, because I've to read new news everyday, then I aslo forgot many of them...

I never give learning vocabulary up & now I'm trying to learn by writing, reading, even watching English movies & I hope you can help me get more new words from our conversations here.

I'm really gratefulness & highly appreciated if you can correct my mistakes in English. Thank you in advance.

For instance use a picture dictionary, where systems are shown and explained. Look at a medical diagram of a body and you will quickly learn a hundred words. Look at a mechanical diagram of a motor, or the construction of a house where all the parts have labels.

The hundred words go into your "passive memory" - you can recognise them, but you might not be ready to use them. Talk with a friend about the pictures. Make up a story, like someone who is feeling sick, or how to build a house. The new words will come quickly into your "active memory".

Obviously this varies from person to person. I would suggest trying lots of different techniques because you will find that some work better for you than others.

When I was learning French I enjoyed reading, listening and watching things and noting down any words I didn't know so that I could look them up later. By varying the activities between reading, listening and watching things, I found that doing the work to find new vocabulary wasn't boring. Another benefit of this approach is that you are more likely to come across words that are used more regularly. Obviously this depends on what you read, listen to or watch, but you can be selective about this in order to learn the right vocabulary.
For example, if you want to learn some political terminology, reading newspaper reports is often a good start. Or, if you were looking for vocabulary about going on holiday, try finding and watching a travel program.

I use to learn words described here already: I get to know a new word, write it on a small piece of paper and put or I stick in a place where I see frequently (the mirror over the stove, the computer screen) and I peek at it every time I go there . (I am a visual learner). The word sticks in my memory permanently :)

My way to enrich the vocabulary of English is so:
I am searching in the dictionary for example names of animals, I am repeating them - and then on the the sheet I am writing out from the memory the most names of animals, as many I will remember. The same I am dealing with names of plants, of colours etc.

The other my way is very simple: I am making the list of English words and their equivalents in my language (Polish). Then I am covering the English part and I am writing out English words, I am checking - and this way to the effect, as far as I will write out all English words correctly.

For me an excellent way for the learning of words are songs - namely I have a lot of favourite songs, but so far I didn't know texts, because I wasn't good at English. Now I am printing the text of my favourite song, I am listening to it and I am singing with the vocalist, looking at words. Then I am hiding the sheet and I am trying to give a fluent answer at the memory. If I forget words - I am looking at the sheet. Then I can already sing without the sheet and I can see words in my imagination, what I am singing.

Toughest part of learning any language is to memorize the Vocabulary power needed for that language. There are many ways to do it. Keep reading/listening to articles/movies/music etc in English (or whatever language you want to learn) .. and during that process make sure that you keep a note of words you encounter frequently and try to memorize them as they will be common words.

Memorizing the meaning of words is another daunting task ... refer MnemonicDictionary.com for the same. It can help you a lot memorizing words using MnemonicDictionary.

For me, some of the best ways to learn or improve vocabulary is through reading, speaking, and watching movies. These 3 have been so helpful to me in many situations. First off, there is no doubt that through reading you learn so many words, their meaning, and how they are and should be used in a sentence. Speaking on the other hand is very important because learning a new word from reading is useless if you cannot apply it in your life. Thus, learning and application through speaking should always go hand in hand. Lastly, some of you may wonder how movies can help improve vocabulary. But movies and TV series have all sorts of expressions- the one's commonly heard and even those that are not. At the same time, the language in movies are used in a conversational manner so it makes a good way to learn how the expressions and words should be used in a sentence.

Michael Andrews
Dialect Coach and Author of
’Learn the BRITISH ACCENT- FAST!’ and ’Learn the AMERICAN ACCENT- FAST!’

Michael Andrews -- I Help People Lose Their Accent --
Dialect Coach and Author of
’Learn the BRITISH ACCENT- FAST!’ and ’Learn the AMERICAN ACCENT- FAST!’Click on my profile for more details and website address

Hello everyone! What a good site is this one !
Let me tell you a little about my way in learning vocabulary and though it is a haunting one but I never give up learning new words . Along time ago, I decided to increase my exposure to English wether in spoken or written forms.when I come across any new words I do the following: I pick up the word & write it in the list of words in my vocabulary notebook. Then I look up the meaning of the word in online electronic dictionary , listen to the pronunciation and repeat it several times as well as reading the transcription of it , see what part of speech it is, read the examples given for it in various situations. ...etc . After a few days I come back to my notebook and mark the new words I just learned . I practice their pronunciation again and recall their meanings by using them in sentences from my own. I may think or invent imaginary situation where I can use those words . More than often , I go to YouTube and watch vedios on certain topics just to learn the vocabulary used in that particular field and i repeat the same steps for the new words I mentioned earlier .

When people start learning a foreign language, they usually look for some techniques that might help. Back in time, there were not many of them - as a rule, we began with a grammar book and ended with reading simple stories provided with a glossary. Today it's different: we've got the wide variety of ways to make a study interesting and effectively. No reason to list them - you name it!
But keep in mind: no technique will help unless you have adopted the natural way of speaking i.e. correct usage of words and phrases. I experienced firsthand that even the simplest things must be learned and understood deeply. Not long ago, I came to comprehension, that one of the most serious troubles we face while memorizing words is actually a mismatch of semantic meaning. At the beginning of my study I'd say 'I engage in music, running or business' - (a form taken from some dusty grammar book) and it would surely be understanding. At the same time, as there are ways to speak naturally, why don't I do it? Today, I will rather say I'm a musician, I do running and I run a business. Another example: the word 'take' in English and in Russian may have either the same or different meanings. For example, it's okay to say 'Take your pen and write' - I mean, in Russian it's okay too, but it's not the same for 'take your seat' and 'take part of'- we don't 'take' seats in Russia, we say 'sit, please'. And meditate.
I'm aware that I tell you no secret, but I believe it's really important to remember: mismatch of semantic meaning is a real rock on which we split!

In my book, I don't think learning many word can help us to develope our english, I started learning english with english grammer books and trying to memorise many word. but I couldn't be able to speak or write often correctly, until when visited a perticul website wich explained to me that "we can be able to improve our speaking english only when we learn many phrase, I want to + verb
I have + noun
I don't want to + verb
let's take this simple phrase
I want to +verb > I want to come to your party, I want to know how to improve my english. by learning such phase, you can speak english with ease,

I'm an English tutor teaching English online through Skype. As much as possible, always have a dictionary handy. It will widen your vocabulary when you encounter words that are new or unfamiliar to you.

Ritz Kevin

Online English teacher/language trainer

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